IOC sees no cause for concern after Moscow terror attack

The International Olympic Committee Tuesday played down security concerns for the 2014 winter Olympics in Russia's Sochi, a day after a suicide bombing killed 35 people at a Moscow airport.

We live in a dangerous world, I mean this is not the first terrorist attack on a capital, I mean everyone remembers what happened in London the day after we elected London in 2005, Rogge told Reuters Television.

London was hit by a string of deadly suicide attacks on July 7, 2005, a day after winning the 2012 Olympics.

There have been incidents in Madrid, there have been incidents in other cities, it's just a fact of life. We live in a dangerous world.

Rogge said the IOC was confident local authorities in Russia would provide a safe Games.

We trust the local authorities to provide the best possible security and we are working very closely with them, and that is what we are doing with our Russian friends, he said, adding the IOC had sent condolences to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and the Russian Olympic Committee.

Apart from ongoing tensions between Russia and nearby Georgia, Sochi is close to the flashpoint Northern Caucasus region where Islamic insurgents want to carve out a separate state. A bomb exploded late last year on a railway line in the Sochi area.

In May last year Medvedev ordered tighter security for the 2014 Winter Games.

A white Fiat van rammed into pedestrians outside enjoying a late afternoon stroll on Las Ramblas in Barcelona on Thursday killing at least 13 people and leaving hundreds injured. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.